Your Dog Can Help You Get a Better Night’s Rest

If you believe having your dog close by helps you sleep better, good news: the science suggests you’re probably right. But a new study indicates where your dog sleeps is important for a good night’s rest.

In short, letting Poochy into your bedroom at night is good. Letting Poochy up onto the bed is bad — and letting Poochy under the covers is worst (and kind of gross).

“Most people assume having pets in the bedroom is a disruption,” said study author Dr Lois Krahn, a sleep medicine specialist with the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Sleep Medicine, in a statement.

“We found that many people actually find comfort and a sense of security from sleeping with their pets.”

For the study, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Krahn and her team recruited 40 dog owners and hooked both humans and animals up to activity trackers to measure the pets’ impact on their owners’ sleep.